Islam Makhachev will set an incredible division record should he overcome Arman Tsarukyan at UFC 311.
Makhachev is the current UFC lightweight champion and is unbeaten in his last 14 fights in Dana White’s promotion.
The 33-year-old from Dagestan won gold for the first time in one of the UFC’s toughest divisions by expertly submitting Charles Oliveira in 2022.
He has since gone on to defend his title a further three times: twice against Alexander Volkanovski and most recently against Dustin Poirier in July last year.
Makhachev is currently joint for the most UFC lightweight title defences in UFC history with Khabib Nurmagomedov, Benson Henderson and BJ Penn.
Therefore, a win over Tsarukyan will give him one more UFC 155-pound title fight victory and cement his name in White’s history books for the foreseeable future.
Nurmagomedov, 36, went undefeated with 29 wins during his iconic 12-year MMA career.
He has transitioned into a UFC coach and trainer since retiring as the UFC’s lightweight champion in 2020 after submitting Justin Gaethje.
That was his third defence of the lightweight belt, having also beaten Poirier and Conor McGregor.
Penn, meanwhile, defended the 155lb strap three times between 2008 and 200, before going on to lose his last seven bouts in the UFC.
Henderson beat Frankie Edgar to claim UFC gold for the first time in February 2012 and won the pair’s rematch six months later before also beating Nate Diaz and Gilbert Melendez.
Should Makhachev continue his dominance in the lightweight division he also has the potential to break an even bigger record.
He has the third longest consecutive win streak in UFC history with 14 victories.
Ahead of him is former welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, who won 15 consecutive bouts between 2015 and 2022, and MMA icon Anderson Silva, who won 16 fights between the years 2006 and 2013.
Makhachev made it clear last year that he is eager to move up to welterweight and become a two-division champion.
However, his coach, Nurmagomedov, has insisted that he does not want him to fight current UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad.
“If they asked me to fight Belal when I was an active fighter, I would’ve said no,” Nurmagomedov said on Pound 4 Pound with Kamaru & Henry.
“For Belal and Islam, OK, you have to talk with them.
“In my heart, it’s not OK. It would be hard to prepare Islam to beat Belal. He is close to me. But I don’t think it’s ever going to happen.”
UFC 311 hosts two title fights as Merab Dvalishvili takes on Umar Nurmagomedov, Khabib’s cousin, in the co-main event for the bantamweight belt.
Meanwhile, Beneil Dariush faces Renato Moicano and Jiri Prochazka squares off against Jamahal Hill on the main card too.
